Projectors vs TVs in 2023

[localzuk]

We ended our SMART Notebook subscription last year. The capabilities of the tools in Office etc are more than enough these days. Certainly not worth the many thousands it would've cost us to renew.

[DrCheese]

We ended our SMART Notebook subscription last year. The capabilities of the tools in Office etc are more than enough these days. Certainly not worth the many thousands it would've cost us to renew.

 

Yeah - More or less what I said to them when they got in touch to ask why we weren't renewing. We also found because we didn't have the boards everywhere that few teachers really made use of the "Smart notebook" side and only used SmartInk before the built-in tools became good enough.

 

It's not all bad for them as we buy their GX range currently, but they will lose the subscription money so will have to rethink their business model....

[Protec]

I personally wouldn't go for consumer grade TVs for a few reasons. Warranty likely void when used commercially and also the risk of components failing such as LEDs due to high use hours or burn-in if using OLED.

 

If active boards are already installed and the interactive function not used, it's probably worth it to just install a new projector.

[DrCheese]

Yea, I avoid consumer-grade TV's - They're fragile, don't have a long warranty period, screen freezing, rubbish speakers & unless you spend a fair chunk of cash have rubbish viewing angles/brightness. They're fine in offices, but not in front of a classroom.

[Chris_Cook]

I personally wouldn't go for consumer grade TVs for a few reasons. Warranty likely void when used commercially and also the risk of components failing such as LEDs due to high use hours or burn-in if using OLED.

 

If active boards are already installed and the interactive function not used, it's probably worth it to just install a new projector.

 

We've not seen a problem so far with component failure, apart from on the really cheap end of the market. TVs are often on all day in home use or for store demos.

 

Warranty is certainly something something to check with the supplier. Richer Sounds Business department were able to do us a commercial warranty for a small amount extra, although I don't think we ever used it. I'm not sure if we found any other supplier who would do this.

 

Replacing the projector doesn't always help if you want to upgrade from vga to hdmi input as the cabling to a wall mounted device is easier. Plus you still get shadows if people stand in front of it. It can often be the cheapest option though if you have a good universal mount in place.

[nicholab]

Had anyone used VIVITEK I notice a lot of schools had android units when going round for my sons open days?

[MrEprise]

Had anyone used VIVITEK I notice a lot of schools had android units when going round for my sons open days?

 

We used their projectors at my last school, not great as I remember as we were always sending them back for repair. Then when they came back, they'd have the same fault or be missing parts. They might be better now though.

[tangotech]

We are currently running ViewSonic Touch Screen boards but I'm replacing them next year with Newline Lyra price is around £1,700 per unit.

[chazzy2501]

The interactive TVs are super heavy and require more planning to install, the interactive features are never used. A consumer TV seems fragile for a classroom. Our projectors (epson interactive UST) are interactive but rarely used (interactively).. I've been installing sub£500 3600 lumin wxga projectors for the last 2 years... I just can't have some oik break a TV leaning or lobbing something at it.

[nicholab]

I people going for 65 or 75 inch I seen 80 but it was a monster?

 

The other question is are we still going for centre of room or dry white space as well?

[DrCheese]

I people going for 65 or 75 inch I seen 80 but it was a monster?

 

The other question is are we still going for centre of room or dry white space as well?

 

Depends on the room. I have a 75 inch at home and it takes over a wall (Which I'm ok with) but 75 in a classroom can look small.

 

75 in an average sized classroom is the minimum IMO - It already looks smaller than the 86inch white boards most of us have installed in classrooms - Remember, kids at the back of the room need to be able to read just as well as those at the front.

[SamanthaD]

Remember, kids at the back of the room need to be able to read just as well as those at the front.

That's why your screen size needs to be dictated by the distance to the furthest viewer. Go look at the AVIXA DISCAS calculator to calculate your screen sizes (24pt @ 1080p = Element height of 3% for ease of maths, use the minimum image height column). Scratches, contrast, brightness etc all mean nothing if the students can't read what's on the display because it's too small!

 

As for us - generally speaking interactive screens are used as primary displays is spaces up to 30 capacity (65", 75" or 86" as appropriate). The toughened glass on them has proven to be quite robust will little to no glare issues. If we have multiple screens around a room we go non-interactive, normally these are smaller than 65" as it's 1 per 6 student table (more like a 43"). For larger spaces we use projection, again the DISCAS calculator dictates this for projector screen size. No-one has ever complained to us of not being able to see, so I guess the system works ok!

[supportman]

We removed our old Casio laser projectors and installed smartboard 6000s interactive screens in various parts of the school. Overall its been a great success.

 

Teachers love the Black and Red pens. Very natural to use and teach with.

Edited February 7, 2023 by supportman

[BenQ_Chris]

At BenQ we have a range of the RE (Essential), RM (Master) & RP (Pro) interactive flat panels. The higher up the range you go the higher the spec (including germ resistant, CO2 sensors & air ioniser). All are available in 65", 75" & 86". As long as you register within first 30 days they are all 5 year de/re-install warranty and all come with fixed wall bracket. All with access to cloud services (device management, broadcast and account system if needed at no extra charge). All are 4K UHD that upscale really well (how much true 4K content is there out there). Even if you don't really want interactive I would recommend going interactive (maybe RE) as they all have toughened glass, one knock to a TV and you need to replace it.

 

If you'd like to know more just drop me a DM.

[Starbug1]

We are going to move from projectors to touch screens in about a years time; it will be a gradual process with us replacing maybe a dozen or so each year until they are all done.

 

However in the meantime our Casio projectors are starting to fail; we therefore want to buy some projectors that would fit on our existing projector mounts and just keep the old set-ups going until we can start to get the screens; does anyone have any recommendations for affordable projectors, either new or refurbished/second hand please?

[BenQ_Chris]

Hi, the compatibility with your existing mounts will depend on whether they are universal mounts or they were bespoke for the Casio projectors. We have a range of cost effective projectors. I'd be happy to advise which models would best work instead of the Casio projectors. If you'd like to know about our interactive panels to I'd be happy to show what we can offer. If I can be of any help, just drop me a DM.

[mattrose50]

Hi

 

I have just done the a deployment for a trust, where they were not using full interactivity, so we brought standard TV's and for casting purposes we then paired them with ViVi boxes

 

If you need any more information please let me know.

[chazzy2501]

Just installed an 86" Benq in the Library... it states that it is a 400nit display but is just bright enough.. £2000 with self install (80Kg). Single USBC on the front that works ok for a laptop (4k, touch and charge) but the TV came with a rather short cable so I bought a 4m one.

 

No integrated wi-fi same as the clever touch(es) I just bought, why are £3 wifi dongles not just integrated. The clever touch one is magnetic and can be removed easily by any passing pupil, I didn't get the Benq one, my newline has an ugly white usb dongle just begging to be yoinked.

 

(wi-fi for wireless projection and updates) airplay, chromecast and miracast would be handy (in a meeting room) but with the clevertouch displays I could never get to work so I abandoned the idea. (brand new last month with updates.. just spins like a lemon when connecting, so I deemed it unreliable and now is now disabled) (clever touch beats the benq for options as you can lock settings and disable apps) Newline is cheap...that is all.

 

Interactive projectors are going up in price and TVs are coming down. 86" is massive and 2k isn't far off the £1500 the projectors cost. The Benq came with a wall bracket already half installed and took 30 minutes to unbox and fit (amazing btw)

 

EDIt: the Benq came with no installation instructions (for hanging onto wall) and we had 2 large screws left over, that we couldn't place but the site manager assured me that it was secure...

 

EDIT2: the wall is thermalight so that's neat.

Edited September 19, 2023 by chazzy2501

[barrytech]

The BenQ came with a wireless dongle. Just FYI, the dongle can be installed on the back of the TV (it has a screw panel that stops it from being stolen/removed). This space also has a USB port for the remote so it can't be stolen.

 

The BenQ you can lock all settings (including the front buttons if you want). Enable the account management and that'll lock it down. Password is admin/admin

 

Wireless casting has been great for us.

[BenQ_Royce]

Just installed an 86" Benq in the Library... it states that it is a 400nit display but is just bright enough.

 

sounds like its gone well, regarding brightness compared to other screens, we consider for front of class for pupil and teacher the EyeCare settings are activated, such as low blue light, ambient sensor etc. If it's in the library and you want to max the brightness start knocking off those settings so would be comparable to the quoted brightness.

 

happy to help if you drop me and the team a PM

 

/Royce

[BenQ_Chris]

Hi,

 

Just wanted to drop a note to clear up any confusion regarding dongles.

 

We offer three ranges of interactive flat panels.

 

RE (Essential) - standard IR remote control, no wireless dongle

RM (Master) - superior IR remote control including pre-paired Bluetooth dongle so the remote can act as a laser pointer

RP (Pro) - same remote as RM series and unit includes wireless dongle

 

All the panels come with an RJ45 LAN socket, some 3rd party wireless dongles may work, however we cannot guarantee compatibility, performance or support when these are used. Our dongles also enable you to set up a hotspot which is a useful way to ringfence casting to a room or area.

 

Also to add the casting functionality in all 3 ranges (Instashare 2) doesn't "need" the wireless card, if you have a flat network the panel can be hardwired and devices connect to the wireless (basic architecture similar to home network).

 

We also have a networking whitelisting document available, quite often ports, sites or features have to be enabled on the firewall, router or WAP in order to get the best performance for casting. For example Aruba WAP often block/filter by default mDNS; which can have a huge impact on performance.

 

There are several reasons that installation instructions are not included in the box, there is the environmental impact of printing them, the vast majority just get thrown away, we also make changes and it's easier to then make these available on the website to download. That said there is normally a quick start guide included. As for the 2 large screws, are they long and thin? If so they are the locking screws, they go straight the mounting arms once installed (you may need a long screw driver), they prevent the screen from being removed from the mount.

 

Whilst TVs are often cheaper than interactive panels, the warranty doesn't always cover commercial/education settings, they are often return to base warranties and the screen itself will not withstand any impact. All of our interactive panels (65"+) come with a 5 year warranty (de/re-install), are covered for commercial/education use and the glass is tempered glass with anti-glare (the RP series also has a germ resistant coating).

 

I hope that helps resolve any confusion. If you have any questions, please feel free to DM me.

[ITMat]

Hi folks, just posted a potential fix.

 

https://www.edugeek.net/forums/how-do-you-do/235214-projector-replacement-tvs-teachers-missing-freeze-screen-pause-function-fix.html#post2013444

 

Mat